Ring Nebula

space · stars · nebula · light-years

A dying star's gift. The Ring Nebula is what's left when a star like our Sun dies and sheds its outer layers into space. These colorful clouds of gas glow beautifully in the darkness of the cosmos.

Perfect donut shape. The nebula looks like a giant glowing ring or donut when we see it from Earth, which is how it got its name. The ring shape happens because we're looking at the gas cloud from the side.

Hard to spot alone. Even though the Ring Nebula is cool, it's too faint to see with just your eyes on a dark night. But grab a small telescope and you'll spot this cosmic treasure easily.

Lives in Lyra. The Ring Nebula hangs out in the constellation Lyra the harp, floating between two bright stars called Beta and Gamma Lyrae in the northern sky.

Famous and catalogued. Astronomer Charles Messier discovered it in 1779 and gave it the name M57, so it's also known as Messier 57 or NGC 6720.